What I learned From…Drew Brees

For non-sports fans outside the United States or even in the United States, the name Drew Brees is not a familiar one, and so allow me to introduce the man and let me tell you why his story carries a very important life lesson for all of us.

For 20 years, Brees was a quarterback in the NFL. For those unfamiliar with the sport of American Football, the quarterback position is the most important position on the team. The quarterback is essentially the leader of the team, and typically, teams with good to excellent quarterbacks tend to be winning teams. Brees was selected by the NFL team, the San Diego Chargers in 2000 out of the Purdue University, however his selection was not a popular decision at the time as Brees was not liked by a lot of NFL teams (even though he was a great quarterback at Purdue), because Brees had a “deficiency” that he could not control, he was only 6 feet tall. In the NFL, the desired height for a quarterback is around 6 ft 3 inches (average height). Brees was considered too short to play the position, and it was believed that he might not have much success in the league (if any). Brees Spent the bulk of his career (15 years) with another team, the New Orleans Saints.

After being drafted by the Chargers, Brees played for the team from 2000 to 2005, and played relatively well. However, During a game at the end of the 2005 season, Brees was injured, and it was an injury that every NFL quarterback fears the most, a shoulder injury on his throwing arm/shoulder. Brees had dislocated his shoulder through the bottom of the joint — a one-in-500 injury, he’d be told later — suffered a 360-degree tear of his labrum and a 50-percent tear of his rotator cuff. For many quarterbacks, this might have been a career ending injury (the Quarterback’ biggest contribution in a game is essentially to throw the ball to his team-mates), and at best, recover to come back and play at a level that was significantly lower than they had before. So, what did Drew Brees go on to do?

Brees retired from playing in 2021, and at the time of his retirement, he was near the top in nearly every single major category for a NFL quarterback, a Superbowl champion, and Superbowl MVP (Most Valuable Player).

Source: NBC Sports

So how is that possible? How did the man that was deemed “Too small” to play the quarterback position achieve this? The man who had the worst possible injury a quarterback could have, go on to become an all time great player?

1. Preparation — This is a word that is used by thousands of players, but it is an art, and ultimately those who are better prepared for each game, will likely succeed. It is a common theme around Drew Brees articles and videos, he beat those who were more physically gifted than him by studying his opponents, understanding their point of weakness and exploiting it. Hours upon hours of studying his opponents, spending time with his team to work on the timing of his passes. Preparation, studying, and learning our craft will lead to a mastery of such craft, and this applies to a NFL quarterback or any person in their respective profession. Brees finished his career number 2 all time (100+ year history of the NFL) in completion percentage (percentage of passes to be completed to his team-mate). This can only come around as a direct result of hours upon hours of practice.
2. “We go again”- After a loss in a game, a common phrase that is used a lot by athletes is the above, and Drew Brees has used that line. On the surface, it might appear that its a simple comment that implies the focus of the player is on to the next game, and that is true. However, there is a deeper meaning that we can apply to our daily life. Disappointments will happen, in any way possible/probable, and that is something that is out of our control. But we have to be able to internally feed ourselves that line — “We go again”. It is easy to become bitter and resentful from your circumstance (Brees’s career was on the line in 2005), however having that ability to simply repeat to your self “We go again” can be used as a trigger for our minds and hearts in putting disappointments behind us and help with the moving on process from life’s hard times.
3. Dedication — This is the attribute the separates the greats from the “middle of the pack” in the NFL, and like other great players, Brees was known for spending hours upon hours studying his opponents. This comes at great sacrifice however ; spending less time with your family, less leisure time, and more time in dark rooms at 10 pm at night, identifying his opponent's weakness and planning his strategy.

There are many in the NFL who would also point out that Drew Brees’s career benefited greatly from having a great head-coach in Sean Payton during the majority of his career, however my only argument to that is this; you can always have a great plan, applying it and doing so successfully is a different subject.

We can all learn a lot from the career of Drew Brees. Some people are born with physical gifts (height, weight etc), and some are born with mental ones (high IQ). However, in today’s world, you can set yourself apart by not having any of the above necessarily, but simply achieving your goals through preparation, mental toughness and dedication, just like Drew Brees.